The Rebels used a punishing ground game led by senior quarterback John Paul Head, (13) who ran 32 times for 211 yards and three touchdowns, scoring on runs of 9, 1 and 2 yards to knockoff Hoover 26-7 in the Class 7A Region 3 battle.By Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Retired referee Steve Newton remembers the Hoover-Vestavia Hills football game he didn’t get to officiate.
Ten years prior, Newton’s son played for the Rebels. The father was set to referee when Hoover hosted its longtime rival.
“That was fine,” Newton said, “because enough years had gone by.”
Or so he thought.
“The Hoover folks called us and said, ‘No. We can’t have him,’” Newton said. “We had to swap referees before the game.”
The rivalry between the Bucs and the Rebels was that intense.
“It’s always been intense,” Newton said. “But that’s a good thing. It’s been a clean rivalry, too.”
Dating back to the days when it was Berry High School, Hoover and Vestavia Hills have been rivals. Youngsters grew up playing park ball against each other, and those rivalries continued through 12th grade and then into the ranks of alumni of each school.
The football rivalry was renewed last Friday with the Rebels welcoming the Bucs for a Class 7A, Region 3 battle. And for the first time since 2015, Vestavia Hills won, routing Hoover 26-7.
The Rebels (3-1, 1-1 in the region) used a punishing ground game led by senior quarterback John Paul Head, who ran 32 times for 211 yards and three touchdowns, scoring on runs of 9, 1 and 2 yards.
Place-kicker Owen Simpson kicked field goals of 27 and 35 yards.
Even though Hoover (1-3, 1-1) dominated the rivalry for several years, many said the rivalry is as strong as it’s ever been.
Myra Myles is the Vestavia Hills athletic director. She formerly held the same position at Hoover.
“I think it’s always been there and always will be,” Myles said. “I think that both programs of the kids and the coaching staffs, they’re going to always go after each other just because it’s a pride thing.
“I’ve been on it on both sides of it,” she said, “and it’s as intense, I think in my opinion, as it’s always been.”
Current Hoover coach Wade Waldrop admitted that this is only his second year experiencing the rivalry. But he’s certain it hasn’t lost its flavor.
“I know it’s a good rivalry, a long-standing rivalry,” he said before the game. “I know our kids are gonna play really hard. I’d say it’s the rivalry.”
The rivalry? More so than Hoover’s relationship with four-time defending Class 7A champion Thompson?
“No doubt. No doubt,” Waldrop said. “This one goes longer. It’s deeper. These communities have known each other and competed against each other for a long time and just have the most respect for each other. There’s no doubt about that.”
Like Myles, Vestavia Hills coach Robert Evans has experienced the rivalry on both sides. His father was a longtime assistant to legendary Vestavia Hills coach Buddy Anderson, and Evans played for the Rebels, helping them win a state championship in 1998.
“My earliest memory of the Hoover-Vestavia rivalry was as a 7-year-old and my favorite jacket, some Hoover kid stole it, tore it up and then hung it on the goalpost,” he said. “It goes way deep and personal for me. But I don’t preach any of that. We just have to play clean football to have a chance to beat a way-more talented roster than us.”
Evans’ career includes an eight-year stretch when he was an assistant coach at Hoover. He coached linebackers before rising to defensive coordinator his final season. During that stretch, Hoover reached the state finals every year but one. The five years he was a coordinator, the Bucs won four state titles.
Then There’s Mountain Brook
Evans said the Hoover-Vestavia Hills football rivalry for years was the standard for high school sports rivalries.
“We know now that is no longer the case,” he said. “Their kids don’t care as much and our kids don’t care as much. Things evolve and change over time.”
Evans thinks Hoover’s biggest rival today is the other Hoover high school, Spain Park. He believes Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills have the relationship previously reserved for Hoover and Vestavia.
“Part of my goal when I returned two years ago was to bring the rivalry back,” Evans said. “But we have to win some of these games.”
Last Friday, they did.
“This win was special to me because I grew up not liking Hoover, even though I coached there for eight years,” Evans said. “So I took this game personal. I thought that we were the better team coming into the game. I wanted to not just win but dominate the game. I’m really proud of our team.”
This week, Vestavia Hills plays host to Spain Park in another Region 3 game, while Hoover returns home to play Hewitt-Trussville in region action.
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